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Zarok's astronomical clock: Difference between revisions
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An '''astrolabe''' was an astronomical instrument dating back to ancient times. It served as a star chart, and its various functions also made it an analog calculation device capable of working out several kinds of problems in astronomy. It was able to measure the altitude above the horizon of a celestial body, day or night; it could be used to identify [[stars]] or [[planets]], to determine local latitude given local time (and vice versa), to survey, or to triangulate.
An '''astronomical clock''' was a clock with special mechanisms and dials to display astronomical information, such as the relative positions of the [[sun]], [[moon]], [[zodiac|zodiacal constellations]], and sometimes major [[planets]].
==History==
==History==
===14th century===
===14th century===
There was a giant self-operating astrolabe on the floor of the planetarium in [[Zarok the Sorcerer]]'s [[The Entrance Hall|castle]].{{Gameref|MED}}{{Note|name=ingame|The in-game version of the planetarium only has the latitude plate of the astrolabe.}}
There was a giant astronomical clock on the floor of the planetarium in [[Zarok the Sorcerer]]'s [[The Entrance Hall|castle]].{{Gameref|MED}}{{Note|name=ingame|The in-game version of the planetarium only has the latitude plate of the clock.}}
==Construction==
===Mater===
The mater was the main body of the astrolabe. The edge of the mater was called the limb, on which the degree scale and scale of hours were engraved. The hollowed-out part of the mater was called the womb and contained a latitude plate.<ref name="astrolabeparts">{{Cite web|url=https://www.whipplemuseum.cam.ac.uk/explore-whipple-collections/astronomy/medieval-astrolabe/parts-astrolabe|site=Whipple Museum|title=The Parts of an Astrolabe|retrieved=February 5, 2025}}</ref>
===Latitude plate===
[[File:MediEvil1998-AstrolabePlateTexture.png|left|thumb|The plate of Zarok's astrolabe.]]
To an observer on the [[earth]] it appeared that the planet was at the centre of an immense sphere with the stars and other heavenly bodies located on its inside surface. Called the celestial sphere, it appeared to rotate around the earth.<ref name="astrolabeparts"/>
The celestial sphere was mapped on the plate of an astrolabe using a mathematical technique called stereographic projection. This technique allowed the 3-dimensional sphere to be represented on the 2-dimensional flat plate. Each latitude needed its own projection, and so most astrolabes came with a variety of plates for particular latitudes, usually stacked one on top of the other, within the astrolabe.<ref name="astrolabeparts"/> It is unknown whether Zarok's astrolabe had multiple plates.
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===Ecliptic ring===
The ecliptic ring was the annual path of the [[sun]] through the sky, as seen from the earth. A belt extending around 6 degrees north and south of the ecliptic was called the [[zodiac]]. Within this belt the apparent motions of the sun and planets took place.<ref name="astrolabeparts"/>
===Rule===
The rule was a bar which rotated across the front of the astrolabe. It was used to locate positions on the plate, and to relate them to the scale of hours marked on the limb.<ref name="astrolabeparts"/>
==Gallery==
==Gallery==
<gallery>
<gallery>
MediEvil2019-Astrolabe.png|The astrolabe in the 2019 remake.
An astronomical clock was a clock with special mechanisms and dials to display astronomical information, such as the relative positions of the sun, moon, zodiacal constellations, and sometimes major planets.
MediEvil. Developed by SCEE Cambridge Studio. Published by Sony Computer Entertainment on October 9, 1998.